Honey Brook Organic Farm manages three farms in Pennington. Some of the land is part of the 930 acre Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Reserve and includes woodland, old fields and frontage along the Stony and Honey Brooks. Fourteen miles of trails lace the reserve and are open to the public year round, dawn to dusk. In addition to this acreage, land is also rented from private owners of a preserved farm located on Pennington-Rocky Hill Road.
Pennington Farm Pick-Up
Memberships are sold out for on-farm pick up at our Pennington Farm for the 2013 season.
We offer two share sizes for farm pick-up at our Pennington farm: the Family Share and the Individual Share. Please note that these share sizes are not offered as part of the Delivered Boxed Share program. A Family Share generally feeds an average family of four, while an Individual Share is perfect for two adults (and often one or two small children). Please keep in mind, however, that the right-sized share for you depends not just on the number of people in your household but also on your eating habits. If you are a vegetarian or like to do lots of canning and freezing, you may prefer a larger share, or you may want to consider purchasing two shares for one family. Keep in mind that if, during the course of the season, you feel you are getting too much or too little produce, you may contact us to upgrade or downgrade the size of your share until August 1st. We will pro-rate your increased membership fee or refund accordingly.
During our distribution season, farm staff harvests crops and places them in bins in our distribution center. Instructions on what to do when you get to the farm can be found in our Handbook.
For members’ convenience, a recipe blog is published on our website. Our monthly online newsletter The Local Harvest is also available in the distribution center. In addition, we offer events throughout the season, which will be announced in the monthly newsletter.
Sharing a Share
Please note, if you choose to share a Family Share between two families, it is not the same as having two Individual shares. For example, there are times when Family share members are only entitled to one pumpkin or one watermelon. Family share members and their partner(s) will need to share that one item. Farm staff does not recommend Family shares be shared, but rather strongly encourage the purchase of Individual shares in order to avoid confusion and to free families from the hassle of coordination of pick-ups, etc.
If you and your partners need to pick-up at the farm at separate times on your designated pick-up day, be sure to coordinate amongst yourselves to avoid taking the incorrect amount. We can recommend several convenient methods of coordinating with your share partners such as leaving a note on the message board, packing and leaving a bag for your share partner, or alternating the weeks of pick-up (i.e., you come the first and third weeks of the month, your share partner picks up the second and fourth weeks). Members and their share partners need to pick-up on the same pick up day.
Pick Your Own Crops
Most weeks a number of crops for Pick Your Own harvesting is offered at the Pennington farm. This benefit is included in your membership fee. Members often tell us that PYO harvesting at our farm is the highlight of their week and an important component in their stress management program! Many of our members tell us that the CSA membership is still a good value even if they don’t partake in PYO harvesting.
Our Veggie Hotline and the This Week’s Distribution and PYO lists page of our website lets you know what’s available from week to week and is updated three times per week.
Membership Confirmation and Members’ Handbooks
Confirmation of your membership, pick-up day and share size will be mailed to you by the beginning of May. The address label will reflect your pick-up day and share size.
Your 2013 Members’ Handbook is available here and also in the distribution center. It is really important for members to read their Handbook. The Handbook is a member’s “owners manual” and answers common questions about the farm, i.e., how to store produce, what to do when you get to the farm and where you can find convenient and tasty recipes, etc. Please keep in mind that if you have additional questions, you can always call the Veggie Hotline or talk to an attendant when you are at the farm.
First Pick-Up & Membership Cards
The start date of the distribution season varies from year to year depending on the weather. For the exact date of the first pick-up and the start of strawberry picking, please visit our website, check our Facebook page or call the Veggie Hotline starting May 10th. The first pick-up is sometime after May 10th. Please be sure to come to the farm only on your assigned pick-up day unless you have made prior arrangements. We harvest just enough for the number of members expected per day.
Each time a member comes to the farm they must wear their personal Membership Card. The cards will be available for pick-up in the distribution center during your first pick-up. For our complete policy regarding Membership Cards including replacement fees, please visit our Policies page.
